I'm looking at purchasing Tamako Love Story while the pre-order discount is still in effect. I've only just realized that it's a continuation of a TV series.

Could anyone tell me if viewing Tamako Market is a prerequisite for understanding and/or enjoying the movie? And, if I think the mascot/comic relief character will annoy me, would the TV series still be worth watching?

(Cipher (v. 3, 8), Emma, The Palette of 12 Secret Colors (v. 1))(Astral Project, Madara, Moon Child, Musashi No. 9, The Name of the Flower, The Recipe for Gertrude, Tower of the Future, Two Flowers for the Dragon)

Has there been any indication from Sentai that a release of Girlish Number is coming that will include DVDS, rather than BD only?

I highly doubt it. If you recall, Sentai is transitioning from releasing DVD formats of their titles. Right now, the exception for this with future releases into 2018 would be for TV series sequels and any older titles that can't practically be converted to Blu-Ray format without serious degradation of video quality.

As for me, I'm eyeing Keijo and The Life of Budori Gusuko for my next purchases. Waiting to raise enough money from my E-Bay sales before I commit to a sale. A bit cash-strapped with the holiday season upon us.

With the Sentai sale finally started up, I'm rather questioning a few series:

Big O-I heard the first season is worth it, but the second one not as much
Mardock Scramble trilogy-I'm ok with GitS, not a fan of GitS:SAC though
Night Raid 1931-feel like I don't know too much about this one, other than it takes place during prohibition/depression era
Perfect Insider-don't know too much about this one either I guess
Log Horizon-saw part of ep 1, didn't quite click with me, but I do see potential interest. Guess it would depend on how much they talk about world mechanics vs doing something. Also, I know a lot of light novel series tend to end on massive cliffhangers or just feel unresolved, is this one ok on that?
Den-noh Coil-I also see potential here, but I guess for me, it would depend on how Ghibli it feels (since it's certainly giving off those vibes). I also read that maybe the second half doesn't wrap things up too well?

With the Sentai sale finally started up, I'm rather questioning a few series:

Mardock Scramble trilogy-I'm ok with GitS, not a fan of GitS:SAC though

I don't really think its anything like GitS. Its got a girl cyborg, that's probably as close to GitS as it gets. Neither is Battle Angel Alita, but to some people if its got some cyberpunk then its like GitS, go figure. Personally, while I thought it had some nice visuals and a solid dub (if that matters to you) by the end I ended up disliking it so much that I sold off the 3 BD singles. This is the same writer (Tow Ubukata?) that worked on Psycho-pass 2 and the meh GitS:Arise. If you didn't care for those 2 then you may find this underwhelming. On the other hand if you liked those 2 then Scrambled eggs trilogy may appeal to you.

Quote:

Night Raid 1931-feel like I don't know too much about this one, other than it takes place during prohibition/depression era

I only saw the first 2 eps (?) back in the day and it was taking place place in China. I think it had to do with Japanese espionage between the World Wars, but with superpowers. It didn't really grab me when it aired, but I think the BDs came with extra episodes that people said added to to the show.

Quote:

Den-noh Coil-I also see potential here, but I guess for me, it would depend on how Ghibli it feels (since it's certainly giving off those vibes). I also read that maybe the second half doesn't wrap things up too well?

I really liked the show, but I'm probably going to hold off for the complete collection, because I can't stand the art on the covers. Its like they decided to use the ugliest art they could find. If you detest children protagonists (some people do) then it may not be a good fit for you. Its got a little Serial Experiments Lain flavor to it as it explores new technology and how it intersects with life, but...more energetic than Lain and less surreal. Its been a long time since I've see it (and I look forward to rewatching it), but I do recall it having a few bumps and not being perfect yet still it was very good imho and for me worth the purchase. [Scratching head] Don't recall any heavy handed environmental messages if that's what you mean by Ghibli.

My Crunchyroll subscription ran out last week* and I'm trying out VRV premium for their 30 day trial. I'm stuck on whether it's a good enough upgrade to bother with.

Anyone else get VRV?
I don't bother with Funimations dubs and can't decide if the other cartoon offerings are worth the extra 3$ a month (36/yr.)
I'm also simply used to CR's player, whereas VRV seems to have the annoying feature of not featuring a way to order the queue newest first

*I don't do a normal CR subscription, I buy myself a year subscription as a gift and redeem it myself. Because it's a gift it bypasses the auto-renewal that you get stuck with under a usual subscription.

Oh! just discovered that paying for the VRV premium sub and linking to CR does allow me to watch the CR shows on their own site. I thought I had to watch at VRV, with their unsortable watchlist to keep track of my queue.

For various reasons I have watched very little anime in 2017 so I have not been buying a lot. The only thing I definitely want to buy is Owarimonogatari but I may need to wait till January as I have spent a lot of money recently.

I also want to go through the TRSI holiday sale once more to see if I want to buy anything else before it ends.

For the first time since 2009, I have let a TRSI Holiday sale go by without indulging. I was put off by the weekly roll-out forumula and the mega-deals and limited time offers that don't mesh well with the Canadian free shipping trip wire of $250. Also put off by the fact that the discount was mostly around 50% which is not as good as the old days. Then I was away from home and not able to connect to the internet as much and the sale kind of ended before I thought it would. Probably for the best because I'm not exactly rolling in cash. I think I'll content myself with ordering the three PMMM movies from amazon.uk.

@Blood-
I was pretty underwhelmed myself this year. Nothing on my must have list was at a price point I was willing to bite at and everything else was maybes that weren't enough by themselves to trigger a purchase. This maybe the first time in 7-8 (?) years I haven't bought anything during an RS xmas sale.

Lupin gets dangerously close to stealing the top spot - but Hinamatsuri can't be denied! See how your favorite shows performed in our weekly user rankings.― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Spring 2018 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that thes...

Steam unceremoniously yanked a bunch of sexy anime games, and the community exploded. PLUS: Kingdom Hearts III, a whole lotta Yakuza and much more!― Hey folks! I'm back after taking a week off. I'm fresh and ready to write about all the hot gaming news going on. Nothing on the Internet blew up in a huge cloud of controversy while I was away, did it? … Oh, goddammit. THE WHOLE HORNY GAMES ON STEAM DE...

Just who wouldn't want to have some exclusive anime goodies delivered right to their doorstep? This month, LootCrate is giving away a FREE 6-month subscription of Loot Anime to ONE LUCKY WINNER!― Just who wouldn't want to have some exclusive anime goodies delivered right to their doorstep? This month, Loot Crate is giving away a FREE 6-month subscription of Loot Anime to ONE LUCKY WINNER! Monthly a...

One reader wants to know why you never seem to see blooper reels for anime voice actors - bad takes can be fun to watch, so how come we never get to see them? Justin gets into it.― Rodolfo asked: I was watching the Panty and Stocking bloopers on youtube and started wondering if there were any original Japanese anime bloopers floating around. I couldn't find any. Not one. So i was wondering, do the ...

The illustrator for Nisio Isin's smash Monogatari novel series talks in-depth about creating the spectacular images that bring the novel series to life.― As the illustrator for Nisio Isin's smash Monogatari novel series, digital artist and photographer VOFAN has earned his reputation as a master at rendering light, creating spectacular images that bring the novel series to life, establishing a worl...

This dungeon-crawling action RPG boasts all the style of Studio Trigger's hit series, but not so much the substance. Todd Ciolek digs into this magical adventure.― It's neither original nor unkind to say that Little Witch Academia stood out on appearances. The series is a charming tale of a misfit at a magical academy, a fantasy staple since well before Harry Potter, but it might not have leapt from...

Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku delivers warm fuzzy romance and anime reference humor in equal measure. Nick and Steve dig into what aspects of this romcom they see in the otaku relationships around them.― Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku delivers warm fuzzy romance and anime reference humor in equal measure. This week, Nick and Steve dig into what aspects of this romcom they see in the otaku relatio...

The adventure continues in this children's mobage adaptation with surprising ambitions. Rebecca Silverman finds out how things develop.― Just because you've achieved your goal doesn't mean that the journey's over. That's the premise behind the second set of Puzzle & Dragons X episodes to be released on DVD. The first thirteen saw Ace work towards his goal of becoming a dragon caller – the show's com...

All the details from Warner Bros' panel at Anime Central, including a look at the first episode of the action fantasy anime Dragon Pilot, coming soon to Netflix!― On Sunday May 20th at Anime Central, a representative of Warner Brothers Japan hosted a panel. During the presentation she provided previews of some upcoming projects and then showed the English subtitled version of the first episode of Dr...

Hinamatsuri and MEGALOBOX duke it out for the top spot! Catch up with our weekly user rankings - and find out how your favorite shows performed!― Our team of reviewers are following 27 anime series of the Spring 2018 season and readers are rating each episode as the reviews go up. So let's have a look at what ANN readers consider the best (and worst) of the season. Keep in mind that these rankings ...

It's another batch of enlightening quickies: small faces, crime in Japan, High School of the Dead and more!― Doc Fraga asked: I have wondered about this for almost 30 years. But what is the meaning of the three finger point "Sign of the devil" hand sign in anime. it's usually seen in Ranma 12 or Urusei Yatsura when someone gets knocked out. The hand-sign often associated with the devil and heavy me...

Paul enjoys a bite-sized, RPG-themed spoof of Koro-sensei's adventures in Assassination Classroom, then breaks down all this week's new anime releases alongside a brand-new Shelf Obsessed!― I got myself a Nintendo Switch last week, and my first impression of the thing was pretty darn positive. I plugged it in, turned it on, put in a game, and started playing. No insanely huge updates to download or...

This slice-of-life comedy delivers an entertaining and occasionally thoughtful package that avoids the seedier pitfalls common to the monster girl genre. Theron Martin digs in.― Riding the current wave of monster girl titles is this manga adaptation from winter 2017, which takes a somewhat unusual approach to the genre. Rather than treating its subject matter as exotic potential love interests, it a...

To celebrate the Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel] THE MOVIE I. presage flower English Dub premiere, Fathom Events and Aniplex of America are giving away a pair of tickets to 5 lucky winners!― The first film of this high-stakes trilogy explodes with epic action and heart-wrenching drama, tied together by the original author Kinoko Nasu's unique storytelling and otherworldly cast of characters. To cele...